The Week in the Life column with Keith Tordoff

I love people who are passionate about what they do. Last week Tim Ledbetter and I went along to see Richard Ryder near Dacre Banks where he grows Christmas trees.
The All together Now session run by Methodist Mike and his wife Julia.The All together Now session run by Methodist Mike and his wife Julia.
The All together Now session run by Methodist Mike and his wife Julia.

Richard is proud of the trees he grows and always wants Pateley Bridge businesses to get the best of his trees to display on brackets outside their premises.

The Nidderdale Chamber of Trade which I chair each year orders trees and I would be happy for Richard to select them but he insists we go along to be sure of the best of his crop.

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Richard says he always feels so proud when he turns into the High Street and sees his trees on the shops. A man with pride and passion for his work. The Christmas trees go up and the bunting comes down.

I am always a little sad to see the bunting come down but it has once again provided real value for money.

The bunting has been up for the Tour de Yorkshire for cyclists coming down the High Street, for the judging of Pateley Bridge in the Yorkshire in Bloom competition, the 1940s weekend, Show day and just gone – Armistice Day.

On Friday I was invited to go along on Friday afternoon to Pateley Bridge Methodist Church for a very special occasion.

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Methodist Mike and his wife Julia have been holding a sing along session over the last few years called ‘All together Now’.

Attracting around 20 people each week Methodist Mike plays the guitar, Julia leads the singing and those attending join in rousing songs which almost lift the roof off the church! The people who attend have very generously made donations which have been saved to give to a good cause.

On Friday Methodist Mike handed over a cheque for £500 to Jill Quinn made payable to Dementia Forward – a local registered charity which Jill is Chief Executive of.

A fantastic achievement and the money will be spent wisely on looking after people and families who are affected by dementia.

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‘Welcome to the Hotel California’ is a line from the song Hotel California by the Eagles rock group.

A well known car maker – the one that made the beetle – makes a camper van called California. The camper is celebrating 30 years of production so this worldwide car maker decided they would release a travel guide naming the 30 best places to visit in the UK as voted for by the passionate owners.

Yes Pateley Bridge, named as a ‘hidden gem’ is one of the 30 places recommended to visit. I think we can expect a lot of a certain makes of campervan coming to visit Pateley Bridge next year!

I have also taken part in a photo session and given interviews for the largest Dutch Cycling Travel Magazine in preparation for next year’s UCI world cycling championships which comes to Pateley Bridge in September 2019.

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The magazine will be out in either December or January to encourage Dutch cyclists to make plans for staying in Pateley Bridge and Nidderdale.

I was contacted for some further information on Friday and I was told I will be receiving a complimentary copy of the magazine. I will only be able to look at the pictures as I cannot speak Dutch. Mind you in the past it has been said that I speak double Dutch.

By the time this newspaper comes out on Thursday, all being well, I will have been to Buckingham Palace for the investiture ceremony where I become a Member of the Order of the British Empire. Guess what I will be writing about next week!